This document summarizes the findings of a VA Rural Health Summit on rural health workforce issues. It discusses recommendations from the Health Workforce Council, including establishing a rural health workforce council, providing retention incentives for rural providers, and exploring alternative training models for rural areas. It outlines the council's 2010-2011 work plan to engage academic centers in improving the rural workforce and to assess programs integrating primary care and behavioral health education. The document reports on preliminary findings from a survey of academic health programs on topics like rural recruitment, multidisciplinary training, and barriers to educating rural providers. It concludes with next steps to finalize the survey analysis, develop recommendations, and continue providing input on rural workforce issues.

1. VA Rural Health Summit Health Workforce Council Report April 6, 2011 JANET McDaniel, Chair

2. Health Workforce Recommendations Establish VA Rural Health Workforce Council Provide retention incentives for providers to remain in rural communities Explore health care training models and alternatives for rural areas More aggressively engage the VA Community College system

3. Health Workforce Recommendations Increase communication among training programs Engage academic centers in strategies to improve workforce in rural areas Research dual certification programs Develop/support educational opportunities for integrating primary care with behavioral health

4. 2010-2011 Work Plan Recommendation—Engage academic centers in strategies to improve workforce in rural areas Objective—Assess current academic programs for educating rural workforce

5. 2010-2011 Work Plan Recommendation--Develop/support educational opportunities for integrating primary care with behavioral health Objective—Assess current academic programs for integration of primary care and behavioral health education

7. Survey academic programs:

8. Rural recruitment and rotations

9. Multidisciplinary training

10. Patient-centered medical homes

11. Integrating behavioral health & primary care

12. Barriers & efforts to overcome barriers

14. 8 NP

15. 4 PA

16. 16 Nursing--University

17. 20 Nursing-- Community Colleges

18. 4 Pharmacy

19. 7 Public Health

20. 12 Residency programs

21. 5 Directors of Graduate Medical Education

22. 13 Counselor Education

23. 5 Clinical Psychology

24. 3 Counseling Psychology

25. 4 Social Work

26. 2 Marriage and Family TherapyResponse Rate 44% (n=48)

27. Survey of Academic Health and Medical Programs—Preliminary Findings--Demographics

28. Survey of Academic Health and Medical Programs—Preliminary Findings-Recruit From Rural Areas

29. Survey of Academic Health and Medical Programs—Preliminary Findings—Recruitment Methods

30. Survey of Academic Health and Medical Programs—Preliminary Findings—Rural Rotations

31. Survey of Academic Health and Medical Programs—Preliminary Findings—Multidisciplinary Teams

32. Survey of Academic Health and Medical Programs—Preliminary Findings—Multidisciplinary Teams Education Methods

33. Survey of Academic Health and Medical Programs—Preliminary Findings—Learn About Patient-Center Medical Homes

34. Survey of Academic Health and Medical Programs—Preliminary Findings—Practice in Patient-Center Medical Homes

35. Survey of academic institutions—Preliminary Findings--Integrating Primary Care and Behavioral Health—

36. Barriers to Educating Rural Healthcare Workforce

37. Actions Taken to Overcome Barriers

38. Policy Changes Needed to Overcome Barriers

39. To Do List—2011-2012 & Beyond Finalize analysis of survey of academic institutions—rural focus Finalize analysis of survey on education to integrate primary and behavioral health care Develop and share recommendations related to education, clinical rotations, and policy Seek input from key stakeholders Continue to provide “rural voice” on workforce issues in VA